delhicacies.com - Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi

HUMAYUN'S TOMB

2 Kms south of Purana Qila, on the Delhi-Mathura road is the mausoleum of Emperor Humayun. Declared as the World Heritage site, it is the first Mughal garden tomb and a precursor to its more famous cousin the Taj Mahal. The site for the mausoleum was selected by Emperor Humayun himself and on his death was built by his senior widow Hamida Bano Begum, popularly known as Nawab Haji Begum, mother of Akbar, the Great. The remains of the emperor were removed from the Old Fort, where he died in 1556, and buried here. Designed by Persian architect Misab Mirza Ghiyas, it was begun in 1556 and completed in 1569. It's four grand gateways, octagonal base-plan, soaring niche-shaped arches, lofty double domes and the symmetrical garden with its central canal are characteristic of Mughal architecture. The magnificient structure in red sandstone and white marble is full of tragic memories. It contains the graves of Haji Begum, Dara Sikoh (Shah Jahan's favourite son, murdered by his younger brother Aurangzeb), Emperor Jahandar Shah (ruled 1712-13), Emperor Farruk-siyar (ruled 1713-19) and Alamgir II (ruled (1754-59). In 1857, the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah hid himself here before surrendering to the British. It was here that the two sons of Emperor Bahadur Shah were killed in a shoot-out by the British officer Captain Hudson.